But the roots of the gritty win were set in practice on Thursday and Friday. N.C. State (12-10, 2-7 ACC) coach Mark Gottfried blasted his team after a lackadaisical effort in a 90-83 loss to Georgia Tech on Wednesday.

The practices were intense and were completed in plain white T-shirts, instead of the usual practice gear.

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The new spartan practice gear will remain in effect, Gottfried said Saturday, until the “privilege” of playing basketball for N.C. State is fully appreciated.

“Coach G was trying to send a message because people weren’t playing hard,” Freeman said. “He thought we were taking things for granted.”

Gottfried got the response that he was seeking with his pointed comments after the Georgia Tech loss but he was not in a mood to celebrate on Saturday.

“You have to learn how to do it every single night,” Gottfried said. “It can’t be one of those things where we do it every now and then. This league is too good. Hopefully we’ve learned a lesson that will carry on.”

It didn’t take long for the Wolfpack players to show Gottfried they were fired up for the Hurricanes (16-4, 5-3). Freeman hustled and grabbed an offensive rebound 23 seconds into the game. Then Maverick Rowan corralled a Freeman miss and Cody Martin rebounded Rowan’s missed 3-point attempt.

One possession, three offensive rebounds and Barber capped it off with a jump for a 2-0 lead.

Usually one shot or one possession, especially that early, doesn’t make a difference but there was something to the energy – and by the number of different players who were hustling.

“I thought the first possession of the game set the tone for our team and the way we wanted to play,” Gottfried said.